The present invention concerns an orthosis for elbow muscle disorders which is capable of assisting the extensor muscles of the wrist.
One of the muscle disorders more specifically concerned by the present invention is epicondylitis. This is tendinitis having the signs of elbow pain which is often the result of too much demand placed on the muscles of the forearm. This disorder may particularly occur subsequent to repetitive movements which are ill-executed or particularly hard to perform by the hand and/or wrist whether at the workplace (carpenters, builders, operators of pneumatic drills, etc.) or when practising a sport (tennis, golf, etc.) or leisure activity (e.g. gardening). Epicondylitis may therefore occur when too much stress is placed on the tendon of the extensor muscles; pain is especially felt in the outer part of the forearm, in the region of the epicondyle which is a small bony projection on the outer surface of the humerus.
This disorder causes pain which may last a few weeks and even longer, and if not properly treated may degenerate into chronic pain and cause irreversible lesions.
At the start of the attack, it is preferable to give the elbow at at least partial rest by avoiding or at least controlling those movements which caused the lesion. Later, during the re-adaptation phase, it may be possible gradually to resume movement preferably wearing a device tightly supporting the forearm which allows stresses on the tendon to be limited by locally compressing the muscle.